The Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health: More Than 200 New Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes for Delicious and Nutrient-Rich Dishes

by The Moosewood Collective

Eat you greens. . . and your yellows and oranges, your blues and purples, and your blacks and reds and browns!

It's a great time to eat well. Farmers' markets filled with local and organic vegetables are sprouting up everywhere, and supermarkets are spilling over with whole grain choices, bigger and better produce sections, and a variety of healthier convenience foods. Cooking for both health and pleasure has made creating this, our twelfth cookbook, a wonderful experience. What always remains fresh and constant is the joy we find in cooking and delight in eating.

-From the Introduction

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Reference, Vegan, Adult

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

The Moosewood Collective is a crew of fourteen women and five men. Some of us moonlight from Moosewood, and among us we have a broad range of interests and avocations. Our group comprises musicians, singers, dancers, actors, performers, mediators, meditators, activists, teachers, trainers, consultants, writers, gardeners, editors, poets, artists, quilters, calligraphers, martial arts instructors and enthusiasts, health advocates, parents, grandparents, good cooks, and really good eaters.

Reviews

[Sarah]

I'd been leafing through this every time I passed it in the bookstore so I finally just bought it for myself. It's fantastic. I'm always a fan of Moosewood recipes, and the first couple I've made out of this book are no exceptions. The Sweet Potato-Apple-Chipotle soup is a perfect balance of sweet and hot and perfect for a cold winter's night. Best of all, it was easy and fast, taking less than an hour from when I started chopping to when I got to eat it. I really like the little mini-recipes too, such as the two page spread of ways to embellish brown rice, most of which involve ingredients that are always in my kitchen. This is going to be my go-to book for a while.

[Denise]

Moosewood comes through with another creative, healthy addition to my cookbook collection! Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health is all about flavorful, simple vegetarian and vegan recipes.

I started my exploration with Spinach Quesadillas. Once the spinach, onion, and green chile mixture is made you can keep it in the fridge and you are mere minutes away from a delicious, healthy dinner. I don't have kids but I can imagine this would be a great way to get them to eat spinach!
Next up was Savory Asparagus and Mushroom Bread Pudding. Warm and filling, it was perfect for the last of the cold weather. The feta gave it a nice salty note and it was great reheated for lunches during the week.
The Granola recipe isn't anything very unusual, though it does use less fat and sweetener than most granola recipes I've made. It didn't clump but stayed more the consistency of a muesli. My boyfriend loved it and declared it the best granola yet.
Most recently I tried the Pasta with Pistachio Lemon Pesto. Delicious! I really liked the light, bright flavors and even ended up spreading it on a pizza crust and topping with arugula and tomatoes.
Best of all none of these recipes took more than 30-45 min and all the ingredients were readily available in my local grocery store. This is a cookbook I will use often.

[Laurie]

I've tried:

~Pear & Thyme Vinaigrette 4*s
~Tempeh-Quinoa Burgers 4*s
~Spinach Quesadillas 3*s
~Italian Sweet Potato Gratin 4*s
~Pasta with Eggplant, Ricotta and Walnuts 4*s
~Pasta with Carmelized Onions and Tomato Sauce 4*s
~Italian Stew with Winter Squash and Chickpeas 4*s
~Tempeh Bourgignon 4*s
~Butternut Cookies 3*s
~Silken Chocolate Pudding 4*s

[Erin]

Have spent June cooking recipes. First cookbook I've been inspired by in quite some time. Actually going to purchase it and add to my shelf! Too many recipes I still want to try and have to take back to the library. Other Moosewood cookbooks have been too egg and dairy focused for me. My family enjoys vegetarian food with minimal to no animal product. This one is perfect for us!

[James]

May buy a copy. Not as many recipes as some of the other Moosewood cookbooks, but a bit healthier. Calories and other info are include for each dish and while it uses old school measurements, weights are noted for things hard to measure by volume. Also has some good info on nutrition.

[Christine]

Moosewood’s Multicultural, Accessible Vegetarian Recipes Satisfy
The Moosewood Collective has promoted local, organic food since before it was popular. It’s no surprise to find they’re still a step ahead of the veggie curve, making a case for whole, plant-based foods. Their latest collection of more than 200 recipes showcases trendy, healthful ingredients like stevia, umeboshi, celeriac and more, with loads of vegan options and even raw foods. Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health by the Moosewood Collective continues the tradition of accessible vegetarian cuisine for household cooks. Insightful ingredient descriptions preface ten different sections, highlighting, for example, the various kinds of beans and peas, how to cook them and cook times.

Even if you’re no stranger to healthy cooking, Moosewood’s often-adventurous ingredient lists may send you to the store before dinner. Mouth-watering recipes like Avocado-Citrus Dressing (which I’m drizzling over just about everything these days), Greek Tomato-Yogurt Soup (delicious hot and cold!), and Mediterranean Eggplant Casserole (a satisfying fall recipe) have already earned spots on my dinner rotation.

While I wish the folks at Moosewood understood the value of cookbook photographs — their books are notoriously artwork-free — I depend on their detailed serving information and accurate prep and cook time predictions. And since the collective blatantly encourages my recipe tinkering, I’m wholly sold.

As the temperatures cool, I look forward to sampling Maple Banana Oatmeal, Creamy Curried Pea Soup, Polenta Casserole with Winter Squash and Greens, and Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan-Oat Crust, just to name a few. Fall even sounds delicious at the Moosewood Restaurant, and I hope to echo a few of those smells in my kitchen.

[Maze Branch Oak Park Public Library]

We thoroughly enjoyed the discussion and the tasting (oh the tasting!)of this cookbook. If we could use 1/2 stars, we would have given this book 4.5 stars.

As we do for every cookbook discussion, we asked our patrons to make one specific recipe from a specified cookbook (Southwestern Black Bean Burgers) and one recipe of their choice to bring to the discussion to share. Everyone enjoyed every recipe that we sampled. These included: Oatmeal cookies (chewy with a surprising crunch), Pineapple Salsa (refreshing), Fruit and Nut Truffles (satisfying and nutritious), Butternut Squash Cookies, Ginger Orange Tea (refreshing), Lentil Burgers, and Mushroom Walnut Spread (elegant). While we all enjoyed the black bean burgers, most of us encountered burgers that were inclined to crumble as we ate them. We believe that is true of most black bean burgers, and it didn't hamper our enjoyment.

In addition, we thought that the lack of pictures did not affect our interest in various recipes. We particularly like the Notes, Serving/Menu Ideas and Serving Stats included with each recipe. Members of our group who are active Weight Watchers thought this information was extremely useful.

The response to this cookbook was so enthusiastic that one patron quickly renewed her copy and two more declared their intent to purchase their own copies for their home library...a solid endorsement!

[Donna Jo Atwood]

I love reading cookbooks for pleasure. Just reading the ingredient lists and mentally tasting them probably makes me gain pounds, but it also opens new possibilities.

The newest Moosewood cookbook is no exception. The vegetarian and vegan recipes sound absolutely yummy--and I am a person who normally eats veggies only out of a sense of duty. But I am ready to try Sweet Potato Walnut Salad on Argugula or Japanese Winter Stew or Whole Grain Crepes Filled with Chocolate and Walnuts. Or any number of other recipes in this book.

In addition to the recipes, each chapter has additional information, sometimes about specific vegetables or fruits, sometimes about nutritional matters. There are also numerous suggestions for ways to adapt recipes for dietary needs like gluten free meals.

The recipes look very do-able. The biggest problem I can see is that most of them serve 4-6 and I live in a household of 1. Maybe it's time for a dinner party.

[Cathy]

Great vegetarian cookbook! And very informative - especially for the "new" vegetarian and/or just for those wanting to eat healthier.
Talks about:
- organic foods (listing the fruits and veggies with the highest pesticide levels);
- the benefits of eating locally grown food whenever possible (more healthy as well as supporting those in your community);
- whether to eat fish (ie good low fat protein and omega 3's in some fish) or not to eat fish (ie high mercury levels in some fish, high environmental contaminants passed on to farm-raised fish, etc.);
- section discussing healthy ingredients (ie some of my favorites are quinoa and all sorts of greens - kale, chard, bok choy, mustard greens, broccoli rabe).
So far the recipes I've tried have been very good - I especially loved the "Italian Stew with Winter Squash and Chickpeas."
YUM!

[Julie]

This was under the Christmas tree- thank you Santa Brendan! Tofu Mole on the menu tonight...

I'm neither vegan nor vegetarian, but I am an avid fan of veggies, grains, legumes, and the Moosewood Collective. There's quite a bit of instructive text here- "articles" about soy, glycemics, phytonutrients, food allergies- all interesting stuff that I count on my Eating Well magazine subscription to keep me abreast of. I'd rather that the space had been devoted to recipes. Nevertheless, I shall be kept busy for many moons to come with polenta casseroles, lentil burgers, beautiful soups and chilis and that Cabbage with Fermented Black Beans. YAY!!

[Dawn]

Fantastic cookbook - My mom-in-law was good enough to buy this for me AND get it spiral-bound so I'd actually use it. My husband has cooked several dishes from it so far, my favorites to date being the red-bean pizza and the rizotto. These folks really know how to please vegetarians. Best of all, and the main reason I chose this cookbook, is that almost all the recipes are simple and use what you probably already have in your kitchen - not a bunch of oddball herbs and special ingredients. Love this!

[Jill]

Quinoa and Sweet Potatoes and the Apple-Blueberry Crumble are definite keepers. I like how the cookbook pairs each recipe with another meal suggestion. It leads you a whole variety of menu options. Ingredients are readiliy available at your local market (no brown sugar syrup or other hard-to-find, obscure ingredients). Lots of sidebars to provide general cooking or ingredient education. Pretty much anything put out by the Moosewood Collective is a good book to add to your cooking repetoire.

[Catherine Woodman]

Love the Moosewood COllective and this cookbook is no exception to that rule. The recipes are good, and inventive, with lots of grains, beans, and vegetables, not so much in the way of fat, and animal protein (although it is by no means vegan--there are plenty of eggs and judicious use of dairy products are found throughout--just good amounts of fiber)--lots of things I would try, and a great layout, lots of veggie burgers, and the quinoa dolma have potential for Passover food..

[Abigail]

This was my first introduction to the Moosewood Collective, and this is the first cookbook I've ever wanted to buy. These recipes are inventive, tasty (lots of herbs and spices!), and healthy, and every time we cook from this book we are pleased. Helpful information is included about all the ingredients, such as how to choose quality and what nutritional benefits they offer.

[Sherrie]

Healthy eating...what a novel idea! This is a great resource for good things to put in your mouth. I've been doing some research on metabolism and I find these recipes fitting right in to a better lifestyle.

[Brenda]

Totally admire the recipes in this book and wish it did not require so much time investment to produce these healthy meals. A few are simple enough for my culinary abilities, but most require equipment I do not own and time I will not spend cooking.

[Mikenliza]

My new Christmas gift - the newest Moosewood cookbook. I love these books. I have already written down dozens of titles of things I want to make.

Last night, we ate Tuscan Harvest Soup, and it was good. The whole family liked it.

[Jo]

Got this from the library. After marking over 25 recipes To Try, decided I should just go buy this book. It may be vegetarian but there are some really great ideas in here. Just ordered from Amazon.

[Erika]

Recipes are fantastic, especially sweet potato apple chipotle soup. I don't know if I'm ready to be this healthy all the time though. And I wish there were pictures and a few less "articles" about healthy eating.

[Rachel]

Makes delicious sides, spreads, small plates, desserts and breakfasts that also happen to be beautiful, seasonal, healthy and vegetarian. Awesome recipes from the original masters of yummy hippie food!!

[Cherie]

A What a lovely book. I want to own it - more great, healthy, delicious recipes from Moosewood.

[K]

Have been cooking from this book for the last 6 months, have made 15-20 dishes, satisfied with strong majority of them. Recipes are easy, very healthy, and usually tasty.

[C.A.]

On my quest to eat healthier...

Haven't made anything yet but I could defiantly see my self buying this book

[Michelle Binkowski]

Love all their cookbooks!

[Alison]

This is possibly the best vegetarian cookbook I've found to date. Don't sleep on the savory bread pudding.

[Jessica]

Checked it out from the library and loved it. Bought my own copy!

[Liz De Coster]

Good, but I was looking for more veg recipes.

[Carla]

This is one of my favorite cookbooks. I use it all of the time and have loved almost everything I've made from here.

[Koeeoaddi]

Dullest of the Moosewood books, so far. Tofu, beans, grains and healthy leafy goodness, sure, but not much I feel inspired to make. Disappointing.

[Jessie]

Lots of good veggie recipes which is why got it; diet advice is off.